The present invention relates to an electronic storing system and a storing method for an image recorded in a sheet-shaped recording medium.
Conventionally, a technique to obtain image signals by reading an image recorded in a sheet-shaped recording medium and to reproduce the image by applying an appropriate image process to the image signals or a system to file the image signals in a mass storage recording medium such as an optical disk and to make it possible to search and reproduce the image has been suggested.
In the case that a X-ray film outputted from an automatic processing machine is directly inserted into a slot of a digitizer or set on a platen of a digitizer, an inserting direction of the X-ray film or a setting orientation of the X-ray film and an obverse or reverse surface of the X-ray film are set randomly on the digitizer. That is, a mounted orientation of the X-ray film on the digitizer is varied due to the inserting direction, the setting orientation and the obverse or reverse surface of the X-ray film. It is very important to rotate the orientation of digital image data or to turn inside out the sheet-shaped arrangement of the digital image data so as to rearrange the digital image data into an arrangement of digital image data read on the normally mounted orientation (or a normally mounted attitude) among operations to store X-ray image data. Accordingly, conventionally, in the digitizer having a slot, a X-ray film is visually checked by an operator and the inserted orientation of the X-ray film is regulated before inserting the X-ray film into the slot. Although the visual check by the operator is reliable, it is less efficient when a X-ray film outputted from an automatic processing machine is subsequently digitized. Since the visual check could not follow the throughput of the automatic processing machine, the number of films processed per unit time are reduced.
As stated above, in such a system, it is very important to detect precisely the inserted orientation of a sheet-shaped recording medium in which a X-ray image is recorded and to arrange the X-ray image in the normally inserted orientation.
As a technique to detect the inserted orientation of the X-ray film, various suggestions were made. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-127321 discloses a technique to detect the inserted orientation of a X-ray film used as a sheet-shaped recording medium from a notch provided in advance on the X-ray film. Further, on the basis of the detected inserted orientation, a position of ID section is detected or a process such as an image arrangement rotating process is applied to an image and the rotated image is outputted as digital image data. However, a machining process to provide a notch on the film is very troublesome. Furthermore, there is a problem to use a special detecting device such as an infrared sensor to detect the notch.
Incidentally, when a patient is photographed on a medical X-ray film at a hospital, generally, the name of a patient and the ID number are printed as a label on the film so that the label makes it possible to visually identify of which a patient the photographed image is. In this case, the label exists as a part of image information on the developed X-ray film.
Hitherto, in the case that image information recorded on a X-ray film is digitized and stored electronically, an operator confirms a film to be digitized and reads the label on the film in order to identify of which patient the digitized image data are. On the basis of the information, the operator reads patient information and photographing information through a terminal from another hospital information system (hereinafter, merely referred as HIS), inputs the patient information and the photographing information by a key board and stores the digital image data together with the patient information in an electronic medium.
However, with the above technique, since the operator has to directly visually confirm patient identification information recorded the X-ray film one by one and to input the ID number provided to the patient and the patient information and the photographing information, it takes a lot of time (several minutes per one sheet). The number of digital image data to be read and stored within a unit time are limited. Further, there is a risk that input error may takes place because the patient identification information, the patient information and the photographing information are manually inputted.
Furthermore, with the conventional technique, since the operator confirms ID number on the original X-ray film, the original X-ray film could not be distributed to a doctor expected to diagnose from the original X-ray film until the confirmation work had been completed after the original X-ray film has been digitized. As a result, since a lot of time has been elapsed before the doctor observes a picture of a diseased part, there is a serious problem that the diagnosis for the condition of the diseased part by the doctor may be delayed.